By Ruth Fantasia Features editor

Updated 9:41 am, Friday, March 18, 2011

The makers of what is arguably America's most recognized brand of cream cheese are expanding the Kraft Philadelphia line with a new series of thick sauces. Called Philadelphia Cooking Creme, the new products are as thick as queso dip and come in four flavors: Italian cheese and herb, savory garlic, original and Santa Fe blend.

We tried the Santa Fe blend and found it melted easily onto hot chicken pieces we'd baked. It has the flavor of warm cheddar, cool cream cheese and grassy jalapeno, with the mild lingering burn associated with cayenne.

In the what-took-them-so-long department, the makers of Tabasco, who have been bottling hot sauce for more than 140 years, have introduced a new Buffalo-style hot sauce.

The cayenne-based sauce also contains salt, water, distilled vinegar and garlic, and has a heat level of 300-900 Scoville Heat Units. By comparison, original Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville Heat Units.

In addition to serving as a wing sauce, the Buffalo-style sauce can be used as a condiment on dips, beans, sandwiches, soups or anything else to which you'd like to add a mildly spicy touch.

A 5-ounce bottle has a suggested retail price range from $2.65 to $3.99.

Local flavor

The small Danforth Jersey Farm in the Schoharie County town of Jefferson has begun making Cowbella-brand yogurts and butters.

The butters come salted and in garlic-oregano year-round, and in seasonal flavors including lemon-dill, cranberry-orange, fig-vanilla, maple and honey-cinnamon.

The yogurts, all of which are made from skim milk, come in plain, maple and seasonal fruit flavors.

The products are available in the immediate Capital Region at Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany and the Niskayuna Consumers Co-op. They'll be available soon at the Hannaford stores on Central Avenue in Albany and at Latham Farms in Latham, says Shannon Mason, who is the sixth generation of Danforths to run the 40-acre farm.

For other places that carry Cowbella products, call (607) 652-2814 or go online to www.cowbella.com.